1. Field of the Invention.
The present invention relates to an apparatus for holding a plurality of bottles so that they may be manually lifted and moved from one spot to another including into and out of packing cases.
2. Description of the Prior Art.
Complex automated machines for filling, capping and packing bottles within cases have been in existence for a number of years. These machines replace the labor intensive manual movement of bottles on a one or two bottle at a time basis, vastly speeding up the bottling industry.
In the bottling industry, when the complex bottling machinery is out of operation, each bottle must be moved by hand, slowing down case loading operations. A need exists for a simple, portable apparatus that can effectively increase the speed with which the manual movement of bottles is accomplished, particularly to replace or supplement packing of bottles in cases for shipment. This same device can be used to stock supermarket shelves more efficiently and to load empties into cases for return to the bottling plant.
The movement of bottles along production lines and into packing cases is largely done by complex machinery A key feature of this machinery is the means for gripping the bottles during the case loading process. U. S. patents issued to Hendricks, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 2,819,576; Reichert, U.S. Pat. No. 4,055,943; Birk, U.S. Pat. No. 4,211,056; and Hartness, U.S. Pat. No 4,300,330, each disclose a typical means for gripping bottles The invention to Hendricks, et al. discloses opposing laterally sliding clamps which squeeze the bottle top; Birk discloses opposing slotted plates which clamp below the bottle tops from above; Reichert discloses multiple fingers which grip the top of the bottle from above; and Hartness discloses opposing jaws formed of two plates which clamp the bottle below the bottle top from above.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,397,504, issued to J. G. Drennan, discloses a manual means for picking up a single row of bottles. This device has a fixed base plate having a single row of holes sized to fit over bottles and a fixed slotted plate located in spaced axial relation to the base plate. The holes of the base plate fit over the row of bottles at an angle so that when the device is brought to a vertical position, the slots of the slotted plate may engage the bottle tops. The device will not lift more than one row at a time due to the tilting requirement.
U.S. Pat. No. 929,464, issued to B. W. McGinnis, discloses two plates having holes that are axially aligned when the plates are in an open position. When the bottle tops are projected through the holes and the plates are slid in relation to one another, the opposing edges of the holes engage and hold the bottles.
With the exception of McGinnis and Drennan, the prior art disclosed above is related to very complex machinery; such art is inappropriate for portable equipment. The patent to McGinnis is for a bottle dipper, and the patent to Drennan provides for movement of only one row of bottles at a time; therefore, there is a need for a device that is structured to efficiently assist the manual packing/unpacking of cases of bottles, and to assist the manual movement of large quantities of bottles from one place to another.